Idris Elba Could Be Your Next Star Trek Villain

Variety is reporting that Idris Elba is in early talks to play the villain in Star Trek 3. Between this and Benedict Cumberbatch in the previous Star Trek installment, it would seem the franchise has a specific type in mind when it comes to villains: looming Brits with voices that could melt butter.

This role could actually be huge for Elba. Not because he needs the mainstream exposure; Elba is no stranger to big-budget genre films, having popped up in the likes of Pacific Rim, Thor, and Prometheus. But it’s been a while since Elba had a really good villain to sink his teeth into. (Unless you count No Good Deed, which you should not.) John Luther may be a conflicted anti-hero, but he’s still the hero of Luther, and even The Wire’s Stringer Bell was more imposing than terrifying. But between this potential space villainy and his upcoming voice role as the frightening Shere Khan in Jon Favreau’sThe Jungle Book (another thing Elba has in common with Cumberbatch), it’s a good time to be scared of Idris Elba.

There are no details yet on what Elba’s role will entail. Cumberbatch’s role in Star Trek into Darkness, you might remember, was the best/worst-kept secret in Hollywood. But rumor has it that those iconic Star Trek bad guys, the Klingons, will be the main villains for the next go ’round. Given that members of that particular alien species –– including the franchise’s most famous Klingon, Next Generation’s Worf –– are often portrayed by black actors, Elba’s involvement seems to substantiate the Klingon rumor. (Then again, Khan was Indian before Cumberbatch rebooted the character). This could be bad news for anyone looking forward to staring at Elba’s handsome face for two hours. In all likelihood he’ll be as unrecognizable as Eric Bana was under all that Romulan makeup in 2009’s Star Trek.

Rumors and speculation aside, we do know that Star Trek 3 will see the return of its main players including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin, but will get a new director in Justin Lin. Star Trek 3 is slated to premiere in 2016 to correspond with the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek TV series.